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Is Ulcerative Colitis affecting the quality of
your life or the life of someone you care about?
• An estimated half million
Americans have Ulcerative Colitis
• Ulcerative Colitis is a chronic
disease of the Colon
Our office is currently conducting
a research study to evaluate an
investigational medication for
Ulcerative Colitis
0
TO QUALIFY YOU MUST BE:
•
•
between 18 to 75 years of age
diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis
QUALIFYING PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE THE FOLLOWING AT NO COSTS:
Study Related klvdical Exams • Study Related Lab Tests • Study Medication or Placebo
If you are interested in finding out snore about the study
or are interested in seeing if you qualify fir the study,
please call Beverly Stallings, RN at
248-344-2357
14,..tlEJA)
C8
March 26 2009
& FITNESS
wellness
Fighting Viruses
And Bacteria
T
he world around us is popu-
lated by a multitude of living
species, which greatly out-
number humans. Viruses and
bacteria, called "microorganisms"
due to their very
small size, account
for a major part of
these life forms.
These creatures
have been around
well before our exis-
tence; they likely will
outlast us. Although
most are harmless
(many bacteria are
Dr. Scott
even beneficial), they
Lewis
are also capable of
Columnist
causing devastating
infections.
Infections are the
third most common cause of death
in our country, next to cardiovascular
disease and cancer. By far, the most
common infectious agents are bacteria
and viruses.
Viruses are much smaller than
bacteria (they can be 1/25th the
size); they cannot live on their own.
Thus, they need a "host" to survive.
Basically, the virus must incorporate
its own genetic material into our
cells, using our own machinery to
reproduce. Even bacteria can serve
as a host for viruses.
The illnesses caused by viruses
range from mild infections, such as
the common cold, many sinus infec-
tions, bronchitis and gastroenteritis
(the stomach flu), to moderately
severe infections like influenza, shin-
gles and viral meningitis. AIDS is an
example of a very lethal virus.
Bacteria, on the other hand, sur-
vive using their own cellular pro-
cesses. They do depend on us,
however, for vital nutrients, critical for
their survival. Bacteria, unlike most
viruses, are ubiquitous in our bodies.
There are about 10 times more bac-
terial cells inhabiting our bodies, than
the total of our own cells! The huge
majority of them (good bacteria) live
in synchrony with us. They use us for
nutrition; we use them to keep the
"bad" bacteria in check.
Common bacterial infections are
strep throat, pneumonia, urinary tract
infections and many skin infections.
Many of the manifestations of
these diseases are due to our body's
response to the infection, not the
infection itself. For example, a runny
nose from a cold is caused by the
mucus our respiratory tract produces
in an attempt to fight off the infection.
About 100 years ago, infections
were the predominant killer of humans.
More people died during World War I
from the swine flu than in combat. In
the mid 1900s, antibiotics ("antibac-
terials") came to the forefront. Initially,
they were sulfa-type antibiotics, with
penicillin on the horizon.
These antibiotics were lethal
against many bacterial infections,
thus dramatically saving many lives.
In the 1960s, many experts felt that
the war against bacteria was won.
Unfortunately, bacteria became
smarter than we; new strains (via
mutations) came about that were
resistant to the effects of the antibiot-
ics. For example, the "staph" bacteria
were uniformly sensitive to all forms of
penicillin. Mutant strains then allowed
this difficult organism to require non-
penicillins for cure. One of these bac-
teria is now known as "MRSA."
This example should show us why
we should only use antibiotics pru-
dently, and not overzealously. The
more antibiotics are used, the more
likely a resistant bacterium (and more
deadly one) will surface. Overuse of
antibiotics in livestock is also a sig-
nificant contributor this problem.
Viruses are not responsive to typi-
cal antibiotics (although some, such
as influenza respond to "anti-virals").
Treating these infections with unjus-
tifiable use of antibiotics will cause
more problems for all of us in the
future; the harmless bacteria exposed
to them will mutate and then become
potentially dangerous.
Additionally, antibiotics can have
significant side effects, such as skin
rashes, diarrhea, as well as liver, kid-
ney and blood cell abnormalities.
Thus, when your doctor does not
give you an antibiotic for a cold, it
is beneficial to you and many other
patients, thus avoiding the triggering
of a "resistant" bacterial infection.
Hopefully, we will be able to outsmart
these dangerous organisms before
they cause insurmountable illness. —
Dr. Lewis is a primary care internal
medicine physician at Premier Internists/
Millennium Medical Group PC in Southfield.